Improvement in paper for use in the bottoms of bird-cages



titiirt iatrz JASPER H. SINGER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Letters Patent No. 111,579, dated February 7, 1871.

IMPROVEMENT IN PAPER FOR USE'IN THE BOTTOMS OF BIRD-CAGES.

The Schedulereferred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

Nature and Object of the Invention.

This invention has for its-object the preparation of a papersuitable tobe placed in the bottom of birdcages to receive 'the refuse andexcremental matter which may fall thereon, and to furnish a propersurface for the birds to walk and scratch upon when upon the bottom ofthe cage.

It is common among those keeping birds in cages to place a piece ofpaper upon the bottom of thecae to receive the refuse matter, and insome cases a litlgie sand or gravel is sprinkled thereon to form asurface for the birds to walk upon and scratch, and it also, perhaps,serves to some extent to prevent the birds from throwing the seeds,which may be thrown down by them, out of the cage by scratching.

The object of the present invention is to provide apaper to be'placed inthe bottom ofthe cage, which paper shall have a rough sand or gravelsurface suitable for the-purposes above mentioned, which shall bealready prepared for use, and which shall at the same time obviate theobjection which applies to paper with loose sand 'or'gravel upon it,that the birds are liable to throw the sand or gravel out of the cageand thus litter the room.

This invention consists in a paper prepared for that purpose byattaching sand or gravel or both to it by means of a farinaceous paste,as hereinafter more fully set forth.

General Description.

In carrying my invention into practice I first cut sheets of paper ofthe proper size to fit the bottom of the cage, allowing it to-extcnd alittle outside of the side bars of the cage, so as .to catch the wholelitter of the cage as completely as possible. This paper should bestrong, and-I prefer heavy manilla paper for that purpose.

The paper having been cut into sheets'ot' the proper size, I then coverone side of it with a well-made but not too thick paste made of wheatflouror other farinaceous material, and then, before the paste ispermitted to dry, sprinkle or sift thereon a sufiicient quantity ofcoarsesand or fine gravel to cover the surface. I then allow the pasteto dry, and when it is thoroughlydry I shake oli that portion of thesand or gravel which does not adhere to the-paste, then press the paperso-as to make it fl i when it is ready to be packed into bundles forsale and use.

This paper differs. from ordinary sand-paper not only in the fact thatit is covered with gravel or coarse sand, instead of being coveredwith-crushed glass, which is unsuited for this purpose, on account ofits peculiarly sharp cuttingedges, whichwould injure the feet of. thebirds, but-also in-the fact that 'the sand or gravel is attachedtothepaper by meansof a farinaceons paste which is perfectly hariiilessto.the birds in case they should eat it,'wh ile inanaking sand oremery-paper the hard particles are-attached to the paper by means ofglue. The paste will also give way more readily, allowing the birds tonow and then throw off 'a particle of the sand or gravel, while the glueis more rigid.

Water is also frequently upset in the cage or sprinkled upon the bottomby the birds, and if the sand or gravel were attached-with glue thiswould dissolve it snfliciently to adhere to the feet and feathers of thebirds, while the paste: is free,'or nearly so, from this objection.

I have mentioned wheat-flour as the proper material for making thepaste'with which to attach the sand or gravel; but it is obvious thatrice-flour, or in fact any farinaceous material, may be used for thispurpose with nearly or quite the same good effect.

I do not claim a paper having sand or gravel attached to its surfaceirrespective of the means by which it is attached; but

I claim as my invention--- The paper for bird-cagesherein described, thesand or gravel being attached by a farinaceons paste, substantially ashcreinbefore set forth.

, J ASPER H. SINGER.

Witnesses 'inos. P. How, L. W. How.

that new

